The idea of requiring commercial
properties to meet more stringent energy efficiency standards received a
warm reception Tuesday night from the Boulder City Council during a
study session on energy and climate issues.

Energy use accounts
for 76 percent of Boulder's greenhouse gas emissions, and industrial and
commercial electricity use makes up nearly 83 percent of the
community's energy use, according to a city analysis in 2006. So far,
programs aimed at reducing energy use in the commercial sector have been
voluntary, but they haven't achieved the energy savings necessary for
the city to meet its climate goals.

In response, city officials
have proposed a program similar to SmartRegs, which created
energy-efficiency standards for residential rental properties. A
three-phased approach would start with expanding the incentives
available for business owners who voluntarily take on energy-efficiency
improvements, followed by mandatory energy rating and reporting.

Businesses
would have to rate their building's energy performance using a
standardized tool and make that information publicly available for
potential tenants, the same way consumers know the Energy Star rating on
their washing machines or how many miles per gallon their cars get. The
information learned through that process would be used to set
commercial energy-efficiency goals and a timeline to meet them.

Though
the proposal includes a transitional period, city officials hope to
move quickly, putting the new mandatory standards in place by late next
year.

"I know that's a heavy hand, but given how much the
commercial sector contributes to our greenhouse gases, I think it's
necessary," Councilman Tim Plass said.

Mayor Matt Appelbaum said he'd like to see the standards become mandatory even sooner.

However,
the city may need to get new legislation passed through the General
Assembly to require Xcel Energy to turn over more detailed information
about commercial energy use. Right now, the city needs to collect
waivers from individual businesses to grant the city access to energy
information, and those requests need to be mailed to a central
processing center out of state.

Business owners and advocacy
groups who have met with city officials have said they would prefer for
voluntary programs to continue, said Elizabeth Vasatka, business
sustainability coordinator for the city's Local Environmental Action
Division.

Councilman Ken Wilson said coming up with energy
standards for widely varied commercial uses might be more complicated
than doing so for residential properties.

"This is going to be
complicated by what businesses do," Wilson said. "The building is one
thing, but what the business does in the building is another."

He also said the city needs to be able to offer significant incentives and rebates to help businesses reach the new standards.

Councilman
Macon Cowles suggested that the city might be able to require changes
to commercial leases that would allow property owners to amortize the
cost of energy-efficiency improvements through rent. That would shift
some of the cost of improvements to tenants, who also see the benefits
in reduced utility bills.

"This would be nearly painless to do,
and over a period of three or four years, we could get green leases on
nearly every tenancy in the city," Cowles said. "This would have
anticipated benefits that are both immediate and long-term."

Other
council members balked at the idea of inserting the city into the
contractual relationship between landlords and tenants, but they
supported the idea of making model lease language available to landlords
so that they could include it when leases are renewed.

Councilwoman
Lisa Morzel said if businesses want the programs to remain voluntary,
they need to increase participation and bring new ideas.

"If they
want to see more voluntary programs, let them come up with ideas, and
if they can't, then we go toward phase 3," she said.